There is great news for railway passengers. Today i.e. from 1 October 2025, the rules of train ticket booking have changed. Now if you want to book tickets online through the IRCTC website or mobile app, then you have to follow a new rule. The Railways has made this change to control the increasing fighting of ticket booking, especially festivals and weddings.
What is the new rule?
Now the opening 15 minutes of opening online booking window for any train will be available only to Aadhaar verified users. That is, if your IRCTC account is verified by Aadhaar, then you will be able to book tickets easily till 15 minutes before the ticket booking starts. But passengers whose account is not linked to Aadhaar will have to wait. They will be able to book only after 15 minutes.
Understand by example
Suppose, you have to travel on 2 December in Shram Shakti Express going from New Delhi to Kanpur. The online ticket booking window for this train will open on October 3 at 12.20 pm. Now from 12.20 pm to 12.35 pm only passengers will be able to book tickets whose IRCTC account is verified by Aadhaar. The rest of the passengers will not be able to book during this period and they will get a chance only after 12.35 pm.
Why was this step taken?
In fact, in the upcoming festivals and weddings, there is also a huge crowd in normal ticket booking. As soon as the ticket opens, complete booking is done in a few seconds. Now Aadhaar verified certification will ensure that booking is stopped through fake accounts and bots and common passengers also get equal opportunities.
This rule will first apply to Tatkal tickets
It is worth noting that in July 2025, the Railways made Aadhaar certification mandatory for Tatkal ticket booking. On the same lines, now the initial 15 -minute rule has been implemented for general reservation.
What will passengers do?
If you also want to get tickets easily during festivals and weddings season, then it is better that you verify your IRCTC account as soon as possible. Otherwise you will have to wait for the first 15 minutes and may also have to bear the loss in the ticket fighting.